The hottest political battles these days aren't between Democrats and Republicans. Those disputes are old and predictable. The real struggle is within the Republican Party, between tea party insurgents and mainstream traditionalists. This year, mainstream Republicans turned back tea party challenges in all six Senate primary races that were contested.

That's good for the Republican Party, and for the entire country. It allows the possibility of reasonable compromise and actual governance in Washington, even if mainstream Republicans have often been unable or unwilling to pursue those goals.

Those issues were in play when this year's Senate primary season began. Yet in Texas and five other states, Republican incumbents beat back tea party challengers, sometimes easily. Texas Sen. John Cornyn crushed several hard-right challengers and loopy U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman.

That doesn't mean the tea party has gone away. It's still potent in the House, where Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia even lost his seat. But give credit to Republican voters - most of whom are conservative - in these Senate races. They had a choice, and they didn't choose the most extreme candidate. They may listen to the loud guy in the bar who talks a good game, but when they entered the voting booth they selected a grownup.

Regardless of this fall's election outcomes, however, Republicans must decide if they want to actually get things done in Washington or continue an all-or-nothing strategy of ideological purity.

Just recently, they couldn't accomplish anything on the hot-button issue of immigrant children from Central America. As a result, those children can still exploit a legal loophole and keep entering the country. President Obama can also claim he has to issue executive orders on immigration because Republicans won't work with him on anything.

There's got to be a better way, and there is. It's both parties finding a way to agree on some things if they can't agree on everything - without abandoning their core principles. Voters are signaling they want more of that, and both parties should listen.